The province’s special investigations
unit has begun probing five allegations that police caused serious
injury to civilians during the summit.

It is unclear whether civilian or
police information led to the investigation, with more details promised
Wednesday.

“We’re currently looking into
details surrounding those interactions” and speaking with witnesses, SIU
spokesperson Monica Hudon said Tuesday. She would not say which police
force or forces, of many drawn into G20 security, are involved in the
allegations. The SIU can probe only the officers who work in Ontario,
Hudon said, which includes municipal forces and the OPP but not the
RCMP.

On the same day, a Toronto police
services board meeting calling for an independent civilian review of the
way G20 security was handled drew heated response from many people who
came to vent about their treatment during the summit.

Thinking their voices would be heard
at Tuesday’s hastily called special session at police headquarters, many
shouted their objections after board chair Alok Mukherjee announced his
recommendation that an impartial civilian overseer be chosen to conduct
the review.

The chair said those in the rowdy
gathering had “no automatic right to speak” at this venue, and that
complaints should be filed in the form of written deputations.

Tuesday’s meeting came surprisingly
soon after vice-chair Pam McConnell suggested a “cooling off” period
last week. Other members, as well as Chief Bill Blair, said they felt
more time was needed before a summit post-mortem should be conducted.

Board members agreed just two days
after the summit closed that discussion of a civilian review should
begin “with a proposal for a process for the board to exercise its
civilian oversight responsibilities” by the next monthly meeting. The
speeded-up process means an independent reviewer will be chosen in time
for that July 22 meeting, at which time the board will also hear
complaints from citizens who have filed written deputations.

It was clear, however, that many
people aggrieved by what happened during the summit are impatient to be
heard sooner.

“This is a public meeting and I think
I have the right to speak, as others do as well. I’m talking about
transparency and accountability that starts right here,” said John
Sewell, who heads up the Toronto Police Accountability coalition.

Others who packed the meeting began
heckling as Mukherjee and fellow board members tried to explain this
meeting was to announce the framework of the review and that the forum
would come later after deputations from the public were received by the
board.

Blair, Mukherjee and other board
members left the meeting without pausing to answer reporters’ questions,
as they often do following board meetings.

City Councillor and board member Adam
Vaughan did, however, stay to explain the slow and complex process of
the review.

“It’s been a very tumultuous time in
the city, and we all need to afford each other patience and an
opportunity to proceed fairly. I recognize, for some people, the need to
speak is immediate and urgent,” he said.

“The issue is the terms of reference
we presented publicly. The public will have a chance to weigh in on
those terms of reference and to assess their strengths and weaknesses
and give us recommendations and then we’ll make a decision on them as a
board,” Vaughan said.

The recommendations state that the
independent reviewer will have about 12 weeks to complete the review,
with the power to question board and police policy and analyze all
police actions relating to G20 security.

“It’s certainly a step in the right
direction,” said Nathalie Des Rosiers, counsel general with the Canadian
Civil Liberties Association, an organization that attended yesterday’s
police board meeting.

“The mandate (of the review) must
give access to files not only within the Toronto police but, if
possible, access to the security-protected files and the information
that was obtained from CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service). We
don’t know if it is possible, but it should certainly be looked at.”

Des Rosiers said anyone who feels he
or she was mistreated by police during the G20 summit has the right to
lodge a complaint.

Written deputations must be received
no later than five working days before the July 22 police board meeting.
It must be signed and contain a presentation outline, with each
individual’s or group’s presentation limited to five minutes. The
presentations will be videotaped as part of the regular board meeting.

Deputations can be emailed to the
attention of the Toronto Police Board Administrator at board@tpsb.ca,
or deirdre.williams@tpsb.ca, or mailed to the TPSB Administrator at 40
College St., Toronto, M5G 2J3, or dropped off at the front desk of
Toronto Police Headquarters at that address.

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